The Top Wood and Lumber Exporters in the World involve two categories of countries; net importers and net exporters. The characteristic of a net importer is that it is a world-leading production base. Each imports a large amount of timber for processing into domestic products. Economies of scale and trade networks allow some of these to be exported as finished products, but not enough to offset import costs. Net exporters are characterized by the ability to export large quantities of timber products, which make up a significant portion of total exports. 

The Top Wood and Lumber Exporters in the World involve two categories of countries; net importers and net exporters. The characteristic of a

Top lumber exporters in the world 2012

Top Wood and Lumber Exporters in the World are generally highly regarded for the export of raw materials from natural resources. To evaluate the changes in the wood export market, statistics from 2012 will be presented showing the variations undergone by the main exporting countries.

In 2012, Canada was the second largest Top Wood and Lumber Exporters in the World, exceeding the total export value of Germany and the United States. The first exporter of timber products in the world that year was China. Canada’s export composition of 2.2% depended much more on timber products than China, the United States, and Germany. Finland was the most dependent on timber exports, accounting for 3.8% of total exports.

Companies in these countries export a variety of timber products, but the largest timber exports from each country show some expertise. In most of these countries, soft lumber is the major export. Largest share from China and Indonesia, textile boards from Germany, and wood products from Poland.

Overall, it’s worth dividing the top 10 companies of 2012 into two groups. Net exporters: Canada, Russia, Austria, Sweden, Poland, Indonesia, and Finland, and net importers: China, Germany, and the USA.

Top lumber exporters in the world 2021

The Top Wood and Lumber Exporters in the World experienced a decline in timber yields due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which disrupted the global log supply chain. Total timber yields in the UNECE region fell by 3.4% in 2020 to 1.40 billion m3. Of these, 82% are industrial logs and 18% are wood fuels.

The biggest decline from 2019 was in North America, but the change in EECCA was negligible. Industrial log consumption in the UNECE region fell to 1.12 billion m3 in 2020 for the second consecutive year. Non-coniferous industrial log consumption dropped by 10% to 229 million m3 marking the lowest level since 2009. The decrease in industrial coniferous log consumption was only -1.3% for a total of 895 million m3.

The UNECE region is a major exporter of industrial logs, accounting for 78% of conifers traded globally in 2020 and 58% of non-coniferous industrial logs. The total export value was 93 million cubic meters, which was the highest level in 13 years.

Export trends over the last five years have been on the rise in Europe (+ 53%) and declining in EECCA (-33%) and North America (34%). In the UNECE region, the largest exporters of industrial logs in descending order of quantity are the Czech Republic, the Russian Federation, Germany, the United States, Canada, Belgium, Poland, and Norway.

European yields of industrial logs dropped by 2% in 2020 to 426 million m3 after eight consecutive years of progression. The largest declines in 2020 were in Finland, Italy, Poland, Austria, and Slovakia in descending order of quantity. This is mainly due to increased imports of logs from neighboring countries where large inventories of timber are damaged by insects and storms.

Strong timber markets in Europe and North America pushed up timber prices in 2020 and early 2021. The most notable rises of timber were observed in; Eastern and Central Europe, western Canada, and the western United States. However, in July and August 2021, lumber prices in the United States plummeted and sawmill costs were not significantly reduced. This reduction resulted in lower profit margins for sawmills nationwide.

Total industrial softwood exports from the Russian Federation increased slightly in 2020, reversing the downward trend for more than a decade, but the downward trend was applied only to industrial softwood rounds. Exports of non-coniferous industrial logs are steadily increasing, reaching 8.1 million m3 in 2020, an increase of 80% from 2010. The most significant increases in Roundwood exports were non-coniferous saws to China and pulp logs to Finland.

The number of industrial logs extracted in the United States was 370 million m3 in 2020, the lowest in six years, while the amount extracted in Canada was 130 million m3, the lowest in 11 years.

Top lumber exporters in the world based on wood types

The Top Wood and Lumber Exporters in the World are classified in this section based on specific wood types.

In 2020, the top exporters of oak (Quercus spp) were the United States ($ 996 million), Croatia ($ 147 million), France ($ 137 million), and Germany (1033 million).

The largest exporters of Meranti timber in 2020 were Malaysia ($ 186 million), Finland ($ 25.4 million), Sweden ($ 17.2 million), Austria ($ 13 million), and the United Arab Emirates ($ 843M).

Sweden and Germany were the largest exporters of spruce lumber in 2020. Sweden’s exports increased by 52% to 550,000 m3 and Germany’s exports increased by 44% compared to 2019, reaching 527,000 m3. Statistics are based on figures released by Eurostat.

 The total export value of walnuts in 2020 was the US $ 3.29 billion. This amount reflects an average increase of 10.9% for all walnut shippers worldwide over the five years beginning in 2016. From 2019 to 2020, revenue from overseas sales of walnuts decreased by -13.8%.  The top five exporters of walnuts were the United States, Mexico, Chile, China, and Germany. Overall, this group of exporters shipped four-fifths (80.4%) of the walnuts sold on the international market in 2020.

Characteristics of top wood and lumber

Tensile strength

Wood is a lightweight material, but it is superior to steel in that it breaks length or is self-supporting. Simply put, wood can better support its weight and allows for more space, and less support is needed in some building designs.

Electricity and heat resistance

Wood is naturally resistant to electrical conductivity when dried to standard moisture content; usually 7% to 12% for most wood species. This conductivity is the basis of a kind of moisture measurement system. However, the strength and dimensions are not affected by heat significantly. This provides stability to the completed building and compromises safety against fire situations.

Sound absorption

The acoustic properties of wood make it ideal for minimizing echoes in the home or office. Wood absorbs sound rather than reflecting or amplifying it. This can significantly reduce noise levels and increase comfort.

Beauty

Due to the wide variety of wood types, wood is suitable for many aesthetics. Different types have different mechanical, acoustic, and thermal properties. Also, the warmth of the wood color is a powerful factor that produces such a fascinating effect on people.

Wood Green Advantage

We live in an era of high environmental friendliness. For this reason, constructors tend to move away from wood as a building material for some time to prevent deforestation and control greenhouse gases.

However, if you take a closer look you’ll notice the double-edged green advantage of wood. In all its forms from a tree to products like lumber and even wood shavings, wood is advantageous.

In addition, unlike concrete and metal, wood is a building material that can grow and re-grow through natural processes such as tree planting and forestry programs. Also, selective harvesting and other practices allow larger trees to continue to grow while they are being harvested. As forests grow using solar energy, they naturally and efficiently remove carbon from the environment. It’s a unique bonus of wood.

Availability for use

Compared to building materials such as steel and concrete, wood has a less environmental impact. As a result, production is more cost-effective. Especially when compared to steel, the water consumption and environmental impact of wood products are low.

Many sawmills use wood by-products (chips, bark, etc.) as biofuels for their facilities. This reduces the burden of fossil fuels in the manufacturing process. In addition, moisture measurement systems such as Wagner’s in-line moisture meter allow the mill to maximize efficiency and reduce board and waste generated during the drying process. These benefits double as forest management and reforestation programs continue to expand.

Emission of lower volatile organic compounds

Wood, a natural building material, emits less volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and carbon dioxide than aluminum, steel, concrete, and plastic. However, this does not apply to laminated lumber products or composite wood products. Low VOC level wood is especially useful for homes and offices used daily. One of the things wood gives off is a natural organic compound that relaxes people.

Wood increases energy efficiency

Due to its natural cell structure, wood has a higher insulation value than steel and plastic. This means that homes and buildings use less energy to heat and cool. Wood also helps to regulate the humidity a little. Hardwood floors laid under wooden floors have been suggested to provide the same insulation values ​​as 22-inch concrete floors.

Wood is biodegradable

One of the biggest challenges of many building materials, including concrete, metal, and plastic, is that they take a very long time to disassemble when disposed of. Wood deteriorates much faster in natural climatic conditions and replenishes the soil in the process.

On the other hand, understanding the role of moisture and wood rot means that under optimal conditions, the life of a building or soil can easily last longer than the life of a tree.